quote:

A very difficult question and I don’t really have a particular favourite. In fact I can’t recall ever going to a country where I didn’t find something that I liked.

I agree. I have enjoyed all the countries that I have visited but what I really enjoy is exploring and visiting places where I have not been before.

I enjoy visiting and exploring places I haven't been before, but I think for a place to be a "favorite" it has to feel familiar and comfortable. For that reason, I would pick the U.K. We share a language and some history and learn about it from early on. It's foreign yet familiar at the same time.

My wife and I have lived in Germany and have driven to many of the European countries. We also have taken escorted tours to Western and Eastern Europe. We feel comfortable and at ease and really enjoy touring Europe. But we get excited visiting exotic destinations.

Our focus lately has been to visit all of the New Seven Wonders of the World (the Colosseum, the Great Wall, Petra, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer Statue, Taj Mahal, and Chichen Itza) plus the Original Wonder (the Pyramids). We will see the Taj Mahal in February and that will leave us with one to go (Chichen Itza). Then we will search out new destinations.

As of now, our favorite country visited is Egypt.

Chichen Itza is fantastic. I hope you get there soon!

quote:

Originally posted by KimR:
Chichen Itza is fantastic. I hope you get there soon!

KimR,

We came close to visiting Chichen Itza this past March. The cruise we were scheduled on cancelled the port of call which had a shore excursion to Chichen Itza. Next time we'll book a hotel in Cancun or the Riviera Maya and make sure we get there on a day trip.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fleet Foot,

quote:

Originally posted by Fleet Foot:

Our focus lately has been to visit all of the New Seven Wonders of the World (the Colosseum, the Great Wall, Petra, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer Statue, Taj Mahal, and Chichen Itza) plus the Original Wonder (the Pyramids). We will see the Taj Mahal in February and that will leave us with one to go (Chichen Itza).

Without realizing it, I'm doing a similar thing. Did the pyramids and Colosseum 15 years ago, will see Petra in a few weeks and am considering a quick trip to Cancun mid-winter with a side trip to Chichen Itza. In March I'm planning on Peru. The rest will come in time.

The only one I've not actively researched yet is the Taj Mahal. What were your impressions of India? How is it for a solo female traveler (for my free time etc)?

Thanks!

If you stay in Cancun the trip to Chichen Itza is an all day trip- about 12 hours. We took a day tour that we booked through our hotel. The ride is about 3 to 3 1/2 hours each way, about a 3 hour stay at Chichen Itza with a wonderful guided tour and then a stop for dinner. An amazing day! You might also consider visiting Tulum which is another area of ruins up on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Quite breathtaking. The drive there from Cancun was about an hour.
Just so you know, the last time we were there about 2 years ago, there was a threat of Malaria from mosquito bites and we weren't allowed to give blood back home for one year.
We discussed not going for this reason but mosquitoes don't tend to feed in the middle of the day and neither of us had a problem.

Of course you can take a helicopter ride to Chichen Itza, but it's quite expensive!

quote:

Originally posted by Chech:

quote:

Originally posted by Fleet Foot:

Our focus lately has been to visit all of the New Seven Wonders of the World (the Colosseum, the Great Wall, Petra, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer Statue, Taj Mahal, and Chichen Itza) plus the Original Wonder (the Pyramids). We will see the Taj Mahal in February and that will leave us with one to go (Chichen Itza).

Without realizing it, I'm doing a similar thing. Did the pyramids and Colosseum 15 years ago, will see Petra in a few weeks and am considering a quick trip to Cancun mid-winter with a side trip to Chichen Itza. In March I'm planning on Peru. The rest will come in time.

The only one I've not actively researched yet is the Taj Mahal. What were your impressions of India? How is it for a solo female traveler (for my free time etc)?

Thanks!

Chech,
We haven't visit India yet but we are booked on a tour in Feb 2010. We are prepared to be overwhelmed both good and bad.

Petra is one of our favorite experiences. I posted this to Insights BB:


Posted 02 November 2008 18:17 Hide Post
E,

My wife and I visited Petra October, 2007 with another tour company. Petra is one of our favorite places. Our guided tour started from the ticket office at 7:30, walked through the very narrow Siq to the "Treasury", then walked by the amphitheater, Royal Tombs, colonnaded Street, and ended at the restaurant at 11:00. Our group was to eat lunch and have free time to visit the museum, Royal tombs, etc. while making our way back to the entrance by 3:00. My wife and I told our TD that we were going to grab a quick bite, hike up to the Monastery and if we weren't back by 3:00 to leave without us. We were the only two (out of 38) to hike up to the Monastery.

We are both physically fit and were determined to hike the switchback trail with 900 plus steps to the Monastery. The hike itself is very scenic. In many places the steps are very worn and we had to watch our footing. The monastery and the views beyond are spectacular. We started the hike at 11:15 and got back down to the restaurant by 1:30 (about 45 minutes up, 45 minutes on top, and 45 minutes back down). We visited the Royal Tombs and made our way back to the entrance by 2:30. We had a 30 minutes to shop then left with our group as scheduled. We were so glad we did the hike to the Monastery.


You will love Machu Picchu. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my travel quests.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fleet Foot,

Ah, I got ahead of myself there on the Taj. Definitely would love to hear about it when you do it. I just saw your pics of Petra. Beautiful!!!

The hike looks doable for me. With the whole day there, I should have no problem finding 2 hours to get up there. I'll be there the first week of December, so the sun will be going down before 5 pm (I hear the hotel is right at the entrance of the Siq so that we can go back on our own).

One question...I have a day by myself in Amman. Any suggestions as to what to do near the hotel (Crowne Plaza) or a day tour? I was considering the half day tour to the Dead Sea since we'll likely not get a lot of time there in daylight hours in Israel.

Any other tips about Amman? Water? Taxis? Traffic? Foods to try? Safety of female walking alone?

Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by KimR:
You might also consider visiting Tulum which is another area of ruins up on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Quite breathtaking.

KimR
We were able to visit Tulum on our March cruise and it was great. We also visited Altun Ha in Belize. We love Mayan ruins.

quote:

Originally posted by Chech:
Ah, I got ahead of myself there on the Taj. Definitely would love to hear about it when you do it. I just saw your pics of Petra. Beautiful!!!

The hike looks doable for me. With the whole day there, I should have no problem finding 2 hours to get up there. I'll be there the first week of December, so the sun will be going down before 5 pm (I hear the hotel is right at the entrance of the Siq so that we can go back on our own).

One question...I have a day by myself in Amman. Any suggestions as to what to do near the hotel (Crowne Plaza) or a day tour? I was considering the half day tour to the Dead Sea since we'll likely not get a lot of time there in daylight hours in Israel.

Any other tips about Amman? Water? Taxis? Traffic? Foods to try? Safety of female walking alone?

Thanks!

Chech,
We only had two full days in Amman. On the first day we did a city tour that included the hilltop Citadel, Roman Theater, and Archaeological Museums. We then visited the Dead Sea. Floating in the Dead Sea was a different experience. If you're not careful the salt water will really burn your eyes. Our second full day we took an optional excursion to Jerash and Ajun Castle. The Greco-Roman ruins of Jerash were much better than we expected. I highly recommend visiting Jerash.

Only drink, brush your teeth, ect. with bottled water. Amman seemed like a modern city. we felt very safe in Jordan at all times.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fleet Foot,

quote:

Originally posted by Fleet Foot:

quote:

Originally posted by KimR:
You might also consider visiting Tulum which is another area of ruins up on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Quite breathtaking.

KimR
We were able to visit Tulum on our March cruise and it was great. We also visited Altun Ha in Belize. We love Mayan ruins.

We went to Chichen Itza this past January. What an absolutely fascinating place it is. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had to lay on the beach the day after we returned as we were so sore. When we went you could still climb to the top of the pyramid
(can't remember its name) where they did human sacrifices. The stone steps were each so tall we thought we wouldn't make it back down. Our calves cramped up after just a few steps. We ended up coming down on our backsides and were never so happy to see the ground!

quote:

Originally posted by KimR:
We had to lay on the beach the day after we returned as we were so sore. When we went you could still climb to the top of the pyramid
(can't remember its name) where they did human sacrifices. The stone steps were each so tall we thought we wouldn't make it back down. Our calves cramped up after just a few steps. We ended up coming down on our backsides and were never so happy to see the ground!

Kim, if it was Chichen Itza, you're not allowed to climb up the step pyramid any more. Too many tourists fell--guess they were self-sacrificing individuals (sorry, can't help it) .